Squeezed for Info: City Map is Like a Squishy Stress Ball

By Delana

As any savvy traveler knows, standing on a street corner in a strange city looking at a fold-out map is basically in invitation to muggers. Staring at your smartphone screen as you navigate is just as (or maybe more) dangerous. Designer Dénes Sátor came up with an ingenious way for visitors to make their way around new cities without making targets of themselves.

The EggMap looks like a stress ball, but when you look closer you’ll see that its surface is printed with a complete map of a city. Currently the only prototype shows Budapest, but the concept could easily be applied to other large cities.

Each district of the city is color-coded, and important places such as metro stations, hotels, hospitals and tourist destinations are each marked with a special symbol. In its ordinary state, the ball looks like a little piece of abstract art. But squeeze it and it reveals the city’s secrets.

When you squeeze one side of the ball, the other side enlarges and shows details of that particular part of the city. In this way, tourists can read a map of their surroundings without actually getting out a map or a phone. When you use the EggMap, it just looks like you’re playing with a toy – and there’s nothing muggable about that, right?